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extreme frost buildup on INSIDE of windshield

19K views 37 replies 25 participants last post by  2015 Elantra Vancouver 
#1 ·
So, I live in Toronto. Park most days at Islington subway station for those who know the GTA.

Today, it way about -6 celcius when I was strolling back to my car at about 6pm - that's around 19 or 20 degrees F.

I could see my car in the distance in the parking lot and noticed ice rime on the windshield. Didn't see any on the other cars. Strange.

Got closer to the car and realized this was an ice rime not on the outside of the glass but the inside.

Started the car, took about 6 minutes idling with the blower on full blast to clear the frost on the inside.

So - I know that if you have a lot of moisture on the inside of your car, like saturated floor mats, it can accrete on the windows.

My floormats were almost dry (rubber mats that I empty daily), and it was just my windshield that had ice on the inside - no other windows.

I should mention that the car was hit on the right side on Dec 24th by an inattentive lane changer - geezer who wasn't checking his blind spot and did need $3900 in collision repairs.

Still, the body shop did a great job (or so I think) and this is the first time since I got the car back 3 weeks ago that I've had this issue with ice on the windshield.

Basically, WTF? Did a seal fail? I don't see a chip or other damage.

Any ideas? Thanks folks.
 
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#2 ·
I don't know if anything is wrong with your car. However, my car had the same thing today. So I would assume its normal. I went to work at 12pm, and never got back in, until around 9pm. Today was a bit on the warmer side. As I left work, it got colder, so I would say its probably because the change it temperature.

This has happened to me a few times already. It doesn't happen every night though. I would say its normal, but I'm not an expert on this topic though. Just stating what I see in my car.
 
#4 ·
I've been having frost on the inside of my windshield as well , and last night I had the entire windshield covered on frost ,the one to blame in my case is my drivers side floor mat which is kind of weathertech carpeted 3d style ,excellent to keep water, snow ,slush from coming in contact with the carpet, unfortunately the downside ,it takes way longer for it to dry ,stays wet and keeps the interior with excess moisture ,which causes the windshield to get frost on the inside .
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies folks. Interesting to see that this has happened to others.

What I find very strange is that it's JUST the windshield.

I learned the hard way over the years that if you don't empty out your rubber mats or if you have fabric mats that get soaked with melted snow, you'll end up with condensation and then frost on ALL windows.

Is it possible that some Elantra sedans and GT windshields have weak seals allowing moisture to come in??

I'll try the Fog-X, and I always do run the windshield defrost blower in the winter with the AC compressor going to avoid condensation buildup, but this was just weird. We'll see what she looks like at 6pm today...
 
#9 ·
same...happens to me on days where the temp changes drastically -- when its warm/slushy in the AM, and colder at the end of the day. I think the car is so well sealed that the moisture doesn't escape at all, and gathers in the largest surface it can.

I wonder if the carpet under the weathertech is wet ... ?
 
#10 ·
Try driving to school at 6am in -35.... heat cranked and blasting on the windshield, yet it still freezes over from my breath lol
 
#11 ·
Both my GT and Rondo have been doing it a lot this winter. Never noticed it once last winter in the GT...I laughed when I saw this thread now as it has been bugging me (never ever had such frost buildup before).

Today I parked my car with the windshield facing the sun so that when I went home it was not a problem.
 
#23 ·
This also happens to me when it is very cold out. However, not just with the GT...with ANY car.

It is often very hot and humid in those car washes ( well, compared to the cold outside air anyway ).

If you leave your fan on while the car wash is running (and to a lesser extent even if you don't), very humid, warm air is brought into the cabin. When finished, all that hot, humid air is still in there. When your car hits the cold again it starts to condense on the inside of the window surfaces ( where it is cold ).
 
#18 ·
6 years in Toronto, never a winter like this. 23 years in Ottawa, yeah, it's winter there 9 months of the year or so. :)

Update - the day after I posted this thread, parked in the same lot @ Islington, similar weather conditions - NO frost on inside. Nothing on outside either.

Very bizarre... Maybe I need to drill a small hole in the windshield to let moisture out? :)
 
#21 ·
What I hate the most aboot this issue is that wifey and I can't see the cops coming when we are parked making out in the backseat.

Hyundai needs to make sure that us Canucks can get some booty in the winter without having our cars getting all frosted up. This is clearly a defect, but I shudder to think the steps I may have to take to demonstrate the issue with my dealer.
 
#20 ·
Happened to me last year after an unexpected snowfall. Freaked me out, it hit like a blanket over the windows about 20 seconds into my drive. I wondered if humidity got trapped in the seat cushions during manufacture. But I think now it was just wet snow blocking the outside air vents. No problems since, and no snow while driving.
 
#24 ·
I have a 2013 ELantra and it happens on basically all my windows. MY 2013 car is in the shop now and I have a 2015 rental from Hyundai and I have the exact same issue. But, like I said it occurs on all my windows not just the windsheil. Its extremely frustrating. I am going to start running the AC. Heard floor maps are a possibility.
 
#27 ·
On my way in to work yesterday the frost was bad on my back side windows. With the heat cranked for the whole 45 drive it never cleared up. Basically there was no way I could check my blind spots. It was much worse on the driver side rear window. I might as well just closed my eyes every time i needed to switch lanes.
 
#29 ·
Just looking for a reference on this. I don't get the actual frost but the windows do fog very heavily and quickly as the interior warms up. Only happens though when recirculate is selected as opposed to allowing drier outside air to be introduced into the cabin. Is everybody that is experiencing this condition using the same settings?
 
#30 ·
That is totally normal on any car. The humidity from you breathing is enough to fog up the windows inside the car if the air is not being cycled from outside. If you need the recirculate due to bad outside smell or pollution then I would set the AC on with heat to cancel out the cold. This will act as a dehumidifier. That is what the defrost does anyway, it turns on the AC regardless if it is -20 degrees outside. It dries the air to more effectively defog the windows. I had an older car with no AC and on a heavy rainy day the windows would fog up so much you couldn't see at all.
 
#31 ·
This has happened to me twice since January, though in Ottawa we have had 30 or so days of -20c weather or colder since Christmas.

Both times I neglected to wipe/empty my weathertech mats during the day, and the temperature fell from around -20c to -40c overnight, causing the windshield and driver/passenger front windows to ice up completely.

Since then I've been wiping the moisture out of the trays every day (sigh) with a cloth and the issue has not returned. Getting sick of doing it but this winter has been brutal!
 
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